Quake hits Assam and Bengal, one injured

Our Bureau & Agencies

Guwahati/ Kokrajhar, June 28: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake on Sunday left one person injured in Assam's Kokrajhar district. The temblor also hit north Bengal but there was no report of any injury or damage to property.

The quake, having its epicentre about 20 km north of Kokrajhar's Basugaon town, occurred at 6.35 a.m. and had a depth of 10 km, said the Regiol Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati.

Cracks also appeared due to the quake in some buildings in Kokrajhar and some other parts of the State.

In Kokrajhar daily market, a portion of huge wall of Kokrajhar Railway Station collapsed and injured a person. Interestingly, the wall had no iron rods. Four bi-cycles loaded with bas were damaged in the wall collapse while one Chandan Sangma of Khakrikhola under Kokrajhar police station sustained injuries. He was taken to RN Brahma Civil Hospital immediately after the incident.

"Cracks appeared in some buildings at Mwiderkhoro, Baganshali and the main market area. Objects in storage racks also tumbled down in many households and were damaged," locals said.

Kamrup deputy commissioner told The Sentinel though no report of any damage has been report in Guwahati, yet "assessments are being done".

In north Bengal, the quake was felt in Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts, causing panic-stricken people to rush out of their homes. There was no immediate report of death or damage to property.